Crime branch sleuths nab Vijay Gautam in Phoenix land scam

File photoINDORE: A team of crime branch has arrested Vijay Gautam, who had started a real estate company, Pheonix Infra International, and another person for their involvement in Phoenix land scam. The team nabbed Gautam and another accused Sudhir Budhe from Nagpur on Saturday.

During questioning, Gautam said that he had started the real estate company, Pheonix Infra International, in the year 2008 in partnership with one Jitesh Nashine and Abdul Jiwani, both residents of Maharashtra. He admitted that initially they constructed and sold apartments that had 10-20 flats in Nagpur. Later in the year 2008 they got in touch with Taranjeet Singh Hora, a resident of Transport Nagar in Indore, and started property business with him in the city.

The accused developed 450 plots in Depalpur area, 250 plots in Saibagh Colony and 550 plots in Natural Valley. The accused sold all the plots, but, did not provide possession or complete the process of property registration with the buyers. Soon after the amount was transferred in the company's account the accused closed their office and ran away from the city, said police.

Gautam told police that the company had not only developed residential plots in Indore but also in Nagpur. It had developed 520 residential plots on 40 acres of land in Nagpur.

A case is also registered in Dhantoli police station against the company. Crime branch officials said that the accused have confessed their involvement in development of 120 plots on a six bigha of land in Lucknow and fraud in selling the same. The matter is under investigation with Uttar Pradesh police.

"Another case of fraud came to light in Nashik, where the accused had developed 220 plots and sold them to several families," said ASP (crime) Amrendra Singh.

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